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Roar

People,
at some point in their life, restrain to something. We hold back because we’re
afraid in hurting somebody else. We lay low because we’re afraid in
disappointing somebody else. But in the end, what do we try to prove? Whom we
try to prove to? In the end, does that make us happy? Are we happy? Are we
satisfied? There are some boundaries in doing an act of kindness. If it
tortures us, if it strangles us, then why do we keep on doing that? There are
some limits in being in love. If it suffocates us, if it bounds us, then why do
we keep on staying in love? Something never feels so wrong. So when it feels
wrong then there’s no good in it. Free your soul, pick yourself up, dust
yourself off, and keep moving on.

“You
held me down, but I got up, already brushing off the dust. You hear my voice,
you hear that sound, like thunder gonna shake the ground.” –Katy Perry,
Roar

A
song for today’s Free Spirit is
titled “Roar” from American singer Katy Perry. The power pop song was released
on August 10th 2013 and served as the lead single of her fourth album, “Prism”.
It was written by Perry herself along with Bonnie McKee, Dr. Luke, Max Martin,
and Cirkut. The song was a commercial success, becoming Perry’s eighth
non-consecutive number one song on the US Billboard Hot 100, and also peaked at number one in various
charts worldwide.

Everyone
has some feelings they keep inside, things that left unsaid. Have you ever felt
sick of keeping all those feelings inside and not speaking up for yourself? The
lyrics of “Roar” are centering around standing up for oneself and
self-empowerment. “I used to bite my
tongue and hold my breath, scared to rock the boat and make a mess. So I sat
quietly, agree politely. I guess that I forgot I had a choice, I let you push
me past the breaking point. I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything.”
No matter how hard they keep the feelings inside and the things unsaid,
everyone will eventually reach their limit. That’s when they realize that it’s
time to break the habit. It’s time to rediscover themselves. It’s time to be
free. “Now I’m floating like a butterfly,
stinging like a bee I earned my stripes. I went from zero, to my own hero.”

“You held me down, but
I got up, already brushing off the dust. You hear my voice, you hear that
sound, like thunder gonna shake the ground. You held me down, but I got up, get
ready ‘cause I’ve had enough. I see it all, I see it now.”
Everyone will eventually reach a point in their life where they feel that
something is going wrong. That’s when they realize that it’s time to get a grip
and find back the right track. Indeed, we live to stand up for ourselves. It’s
not about being selfish, but it’s about making the right priority. Because
sometimes, life is blurring our priority, that life makes us, shapes us, when
actually we’re the ones who make and shape our own life. “I got the eye of the tiger, a fighte. Dancing through the fire, ‘cause
I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar, louder. Louder than a lion,
‘cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar.”

The
music video for “Roar” was released on September 5th 2013, directed by Grady
Hall and Mark Kudsi, and also starred actor and model Brian Nagel. The video
featured Perry trying to adapt to the jungle where she survived a plane crash,
and taming a tiger. The song was nominated for Song of the Year and Best
Pop Solo Performance at the 56th
Annual Grammy Awards. “Roar” has the theme of empowerment, as she described
the track as a song speaking about standing up for oneself.

“Now
I’m floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee I earned my stripes. I went
from zero, to my own hero.” –Katy Perry, Roar

“I
used to bite my tongue and hold my breath, scared to rock the boat and make a
mess

So
I sat quietly, agree politely

I
guess that I forgot I had a choice, I let you push me past the breaking point

I
stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

You
held me down, but I got up, already brushing off the dust

You
hear my voice, you hear that sound, like thunder gonna shake the ground

You
held me down, but I got up, get ready ‘cause I’ve had enough

I
see it all, I see it now

I
got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire

‘Cause
I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar, louder

Louder
than a lion, ‘cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar